The police continued to protest for the third day in Jehanabad town in Bihar against the transfer of Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar by the state government after the daring Maoist jailbreak operation and attack on police lines.

The large number of police personnel on Friday threatened not to join duty till the suspension of S P Kumar was revoked. They had surrendered their arms and ammunition to the incharge of the police lines.

• The Naxalite Threat

The police personnel have been staging dharna in support of their demand.

Earlier, they gheraoed Jehanabad District Magistrate Rana Awadesh on Thursday and they also protested before visiting Chief Secretary G S Kang and  Director General of Police A R Sinha two days ago and gheraoed them.

This was first time in state that angry police personnel had protested before the chief secretary and DGP against transfer of the SP.

Police personnel maintained that the SP was made a scapegoat and the blame for Maoist attack had to be shared by the top brass of administration instead of the brave SP, who led them to counter the Maoists on Sunday night.

Sources in district office said that situation is revolt-like with the police determine not to join duty.

The state government replaced SP Kumar with Bacchu Singh Meena, who joined duty in Jehanabd.

Five days after the Maoist attack, Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force were deployed in town and National Security Guard personnel reached there to launch special operations against the Maoists along with central para military forces Friday.   

India's elite security force -- the NSG along with the Central Para Military Forces and Bihar Military Police is likely to launch the operation against Maoists following a go-ahead given by the top officials of the Bihar administration and central government.

The NSG is taking  part in the operation against Maoists in Bihar for the first time in India since its inception  in the wake of the daring Maoist attack on Jehanabad town, which came as a  big blow to the state as well as Centre.

The Central government has sent two squadrons of the National Security Guards for launching an offensive against Maoists in the wake of daring Maoist attack on Jehanabad on Sunday night.

Although the state government had already launched combing operation against the Maoists in Jehanabad and adjoining districts of  Gaya, Arwal and Aurangabad, the fresh offensive carried by NSG persoonel, considered experts in dealing with breaking the foot hold of  terrorists, might led to some breakthrough. 

Till now no breakthrough was reported in case of arrest of the Maoist guerillas involved in the attack or any other thing. "NSG along with CRPF, STF and other security forces would hit the Maoists in rural pockets," a senior police official said.

Bihar's Home Secretary Hem Chandra Sirohi told newspersons in Patna after the high level meeting, attended among others by Special Secretary to Union Home Ministry A K Mitra and State Police Chief Ashish Ranjan Sinha and other top ranking police officials, that two companies of NSG with a strength of 280 men had been sent to Jehanabad after they reached Patna to launch fresh offensive against the Maoists.